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As part of the ICARUS (Integrated Climate forcing and Air pollution Reduction in Urban Systems) H2020 EU project, sampling campaigns took place in seven European cities (Athens, Basel, Brno, Ljubljana, Madrid, Milan, Thessaloniki), aiming to characterize urban population exposure to air pollutants, altogether with over 600 participants from over 250 households. By combining spatio-temporal information on air pollution and activity data of individuals, we were able to identify individual exposure profiles and to aggregate information according to specific micro-environments and activity. Personal exposure reports were then prepared and distributed to all participants. In this paper the overall experience gained conducting sampling campaigns in all seven cities is summarised, focusing on the following aspects: sensors selection and evaluation, development of the overall study design, data harmonisation and building of supporting ICT infrastructure, as well as overall feasibility evaluation including user experience as reported by both participants and field workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the emission changes for the city of Brno in the Czech Republic following the implementation of four policy measures focused on transport and energy were assessed simultaneously for nine air pollutants and three greenhouse gases (GHGs). The policy measure related to the reduction of the motorised vehicles in the city and subsequent increase in use of soft transport was the one with the highest emission reduction potential for most of the compounds investigated (e.g. up to 13% decrease for PM2.5 and NOx). Such type of measures, which have a higher positive effect on human health and climate change than those on low-carbon vehicles, are difficult to implement as they require a behavioral change. Therefore, they should be implemented along additional measures which can be easily implemented such as those on the replacement of old coal-fired boilers. This study highlighted the need for an integrated impact assessment of policy measures, considering both air pollutants and GHGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Uptake of organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls from soil and air into radishes was measured at a heavily contaminated field site. The highest contaminant concentrations were found for DDT and its metabolites, and for β-hexachlorocyclohexane. Bioconcentration factor (BCF, defined as a ratio between the contaminant concentration in the plant tissue and concentration in soil) was determined for roots, edible bulbs and shoots. Root BCF values were constant and not correlated to log K OW. A negative correlation between BCF and log K OW was found for edible bulbs. Shoot BCF values were rather constant and varied between 0.01 and 0.22. Resuspended soil particles may facilitate the transport of chemicals from soil to shoots. Elevated POP concentrations found in shoots of radishes grown in the control plot support the hypothesis that the uptake from air was more significant for shoots than the one from soil. The uptake of POPs from air was within the range of theoretical values predicted from log K OA. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]